Kirstjen Nielsen Faces the Democrats

Secretary of Homeland Defense Kirstjen Nielsen is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee. It seems that just about the only thing the Democrats want to talk about is the meeting with President Trump last week that gave rise to the “s***hole” controversy. Secretary Nielsen is at least the second person to say that Trump did not use that term, yet “s***hole” has been reported more or less universally as fact.

She had a longer colloquy with Dick Durbin, who leaked the “s***hole” claim to the press. She handled Durbin respectfully but well; the last exchange is particularly good:

The Democrats’ self-righteousness is disgusting. Apart from that, I find it hard to understand their strategy. (Paul has struggled to make sense of it, as well.) They have gone public with characterizations of a private negotiating session they had with the president, some of which are probably false. In doing so, they have hurt America’s standing in some countries. Their actions are deeply unpatriotic, and I cannot recall any precedent for them.

Why are they doing it, other than the fact that they are blinded by their hate for the president? Like Paul, I question whether they can plausibly believe that double-crossing the president strengthens their hand in the negotiations over various immigration-related issues. I only hope that President Trump will find opportunities to take revenge.